Japan honors Jane Birkin for tsunami relief effort

PARIS (AFP) ― British-born singer-actress Jane Birkin was awarded the Japanese foreign ministry’s top honor Thursday for her support to Japan’s relief work after the devastating 2011 earthquake.Best known as the muse of iconic French singer Serge Gainsbourg who wrote several of her albums, Birkin rushed to Japan after the 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing monster tsunami.“We were struck by her immediate reaction to the earthquake,” said Japanese ambassador Yoichi Suzuki, after awarding her the Jap

PeopleNov. 15, 2013

[Photo News] Ailee returns to the stage

South Korean singer Ailee on Thursday made her first stage appearance since the nude photo incident at the 2013 Melon Music Awards.The 24-year-old singer put on a dazzling performance with singer Shin Seung-hoon and hip-hop group Baechigi after being named one of the top 10 artists at the ceremony.The fans chanted Ailee’s name after the performance and the singer shed tears onstage.A U.S.-based Korean pop news site uploaded what appeared to be her nude photos on Nov. 10, touching off a storm of

PerformanceNov. 15, 2013

National Theater Company releases English book

The National Theater Company of Korea has released a compilation of three Korean plays translated into English, titled “Three Plays.” The 150-page book features the well-loved plays Bae Sam-sik’s “March Snow,” Ko Yeon-ok’s “The Master Has Arrived,” and Park Geun-hung’s “Red Bus.” The book also contains commentaries written about the writers’ lives and works by honorary professor at Pennsylvania State University, Richard Nicole. The National Theater Company of Korea has sent copies to more than 1

CultureNov. 14, 2013

‘DNA of modern media artists comes from Nam June Paik’

Nam June Paik was an artist ahead of his time and his influence on today’s media artists is greater than when he was alive in the 80s and 90s, according to Doug Aitken, winner of the 2012 Nam June Paik Art Center Prize. “Paik was incredibly ahead of his time ... his works were about mixing up the media and this has been the DNA of today’s media artists,” said Aitken at the press opening of his exhibition at Nam June Paik Art Center in Korea last week. Aitken was awarded the NJP Art Center Prize

PerformanceNov. 14, 2013

Naju National Museum to open next week

The Naju National Museum, the 13th central government-funded museum under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will open to the public on Nov. 22. Located about a 20 minutes’ drive from central Naju, South Jeolla Province, in a rural setting, the museum will be a place where the past meets the present and future of the Yeongsangang River area, said Park Jung-hwan, director of the museum.“In the past, we built national museums in city centers, but this time we are reenacting history: The

CultureNov. 14, 2013

Andy Warhol painting fetches record $105m at U.S. auction

NEW YORK (AP) ― A prized 1963 Andy Warhol painting that captures the immediate aftermath of a car crash sold for $105 million Wednesday at a New York City auction, shattering the record for the famed pop artist amid a spending frenzy at the high end of the art world.The 3.96-meter painting titled “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” depicts a twisted body sprawled across a car’s mangled interior. It has only been seen once in public in the past 26 years. The buyer wasn’t immediately identified.T

PerformanceNov. 14, 2013

Singer-songwriter Lee Juck returns with ‘The Meaning of Solitude’

Nearly three years after the release of his last album, popular ballad singer-songwriter Lee Juck has returned to the music scene with the release of his fifth studio album, “The Meaning of Solitude.” The entire 10-track album was written and composed by the artist and features the sweet and soulful melodies that fans have come to expect from the singer; however, this time around, Lee has also decided to delve into new waters by taking on a number of hip-hop and even club-style tracks in keeping

PerformanceNov. 14, 2013

‘Infinite Challenge’ stops sales of song over plagiarism claims

MBC has stopped sales of “I Got C,” a song featured on the entertainment show “Infinite Challenge” that is in hot water over plagiarism claims.The broadcaster said it reached the decision to stop all sales of the song with Amoeba Culture Entertainment, which represents the hip-hop producer Primary, until the issue is settled. It said it would stop selling the CDs, which feature other songs made for the show, after Nov. 15 in a banner message on its website. The decision was made as the controver

PerformanceNov. 14, 2013

‘My Life’ serves as an appetizer

Several years ago, a cookbook editor friend called asking my advice on whether she should publish Jacques Pepin’s autobiography. Pepin is one of my heroes in food, I told her, but I’d pass on the book ― all chef biographies tend to follow the same story arc, there’s not a lot new to be said.Wisely she ignored me, and though “The Apprentice” turned out just as I predicted plot-wise, it was one of the bestselling cookbooks of the year. I learned two lessons from that incident: I’m a lot better off

BooksNov. 14, 2013

Remembering Nora Ephron in two new collections

In her poignant 2010 essay “What I Will Miss,” which appears on the last page of a new omnibus, “The Most of Nora Ephron” (Alfred A. Knopf.), the author listed 31 items ― bacon, Paris and “the concept of waffles,” among them. There’s one thing she left out, I would venture to guess: writing.Though it was kept secret from all but her immediate circle, Ephron knew she was terminally ill with leukemia for six years before her death in 2012. If anything, this increased her productivity. According to

BooksNov. 14, 2013

‘Star Wars’ trilogy frame-by-frame

Star Wars: FramesSelected by George Lucas(Abrams, NY)Who hasn’t in their lifetime wanted to study a moment in a film, to pause the action and survey what is going on without fear that the hold suddenly will end?For fans of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” saga, that moment has finally come with “Star Wars: Frames.” It is all six of the “Star Wars” trilogy frame-by-frame.In 2011, “Frames” was issued in a very limited edition of six volumes, and came in a hard case adorned with a Darth Vader medallion. I

BooksNov. 14, 2013

Hunting for WWII MIAs in ‘Vanished’

Vanished: The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War IIBy Wil S. Hylton (Riverhead)The official story was that the war in the Pacific claimed Jimmie Doyle on Sept. 1, 1944, when Japanese antiaircraft fire brought down his B-24 Liberator during a bombing mission over the tiny Palau archipelago. Neither the plane nor a single member of the 11-man crew was ever found. But there was always a second, darker story, and it haunted Jimmie’s son, Tommy, for most of his life.Tommy’s uncles bel

BooksNov. 14, 2013

Kim Yu-na donates $100,000 for Philippines typhoon relief

Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na has donated $100,000 to a relief organization for the typhoon-hit Philippines.The Korean Committee for UNICEF said Thursday that Kim made the donation on Wednesday. “Through the Korean Committee for UNICEF, Kim has sponsored underprivileged and sick children at the end of each year. This year, she informed us that she wanted to help children affected by the powerful typhoon in the Philippines,” it said. “Her donation will be used to supply drinking water

PeopleNov. 14, 2013

Jong to marry S. Korean stewardess

Jong Tae-se, a striker at Suwon Samsung Bluewings who played for North Korea, will marry a South Korean woman next month.He is scheduled to tie the knot with a stewardess who works for a Korean airline at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel on Dec. 4, his club said, without elaborating on who Jong’s bride-to-be was.They were introduced through a mutual acquaintance in May and recently began preparations for their wedding after both families agreed, the club said.Jong was born to Korean parents in N

PeopleNov. 14, 2013

Lee Charm in hot water over allegations of receiving sexual favors

Lee Charm, CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization, is in hot water for allegedly receiving favors from a subcontractor by visiting a brothel in Japan last year. While the German-turned-Korean admits to visiting the business, he insisted that he paid for the services on his own, saying it was only a “pure massage to take away the fatigue.”According to a report by jTBC on Tuesday, the KTO CEO visited Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday in January last year with workers of a subcontract company

CultureNov. 13, 2013

Korea National Ballet’s ‘Carmen’ gets Chinese premiere

BEIJING ― Just a year after the National Ballet of China had the Korean premiere of its staple repertoire “Raise the Red Lantern,” its Korean counterpart ― the Korea National Ballet ― premiered its rendition of French choreographer Roland Petit’s (1924-2011) “Carmen” and “The Woman of Arles” in China on Tuesday. The performance took place as part of China’s on-going, inaugural International Ballet Season, hosted by the National Ballet of China in Beijing. The ballet bash features dances by 12 co

PerformanceNov. 13, 2013